by Leia Stone
“Maisey…” he warned.
“Trust me,” I told him, taking a deep breath.
Leaping off the water shelf, I crashed into the ocean. The last thing I heard was Cronus' strangled cry. The second I sank into the water, I kicked after the black mass slithering away. I was a Santa Barbara surfer chick. I could swim like nobody's business.
#NotReally #SurfedTwoTimes
Pumping my feet, I trailed after the big asshole and was rewarded when he sensed me and turned.
Holy fuck.
#IInstantlyRegretThisDecision
The form the final two sins had taken was like that of a mythical water dragon, large and blue, with a horned head, four webbed feet, and a bunch of spikes down his spine. Without hesitation, he came after me, swimming like a fucking torpedo.
I’ve got this.
I’d been planning for this so I was already ready, turning and swimming as fast as I could toward the floating raft of gods. I wouldn’t have had a shot if one of the Titans hadn’t sent some water magic in behind me, shooting me forward at an unnatural speed.
Peering behind me, Frost-Death dragon looked pissed, steam shooting from its jaws. We were so close, I couldn’t give up now.
Breaking through the top of the water, I shouted, “Get ready!”
Okeanos, who seemed to be directing the water beneath me, was beside Cronus. The box lay open between them. Lightning cracked overhead as Cronus reached for me, the water pushing me up and out of the sea.
The Frost-Death dragon was right behind me. Black rivulets of water streamed off his body as he plowed right at us.
“Forgive me, love,” Cronus whispered, chucking me at Hyperion.
“No!” The shriek that left my throat was not human as I sailed through the air, crashing into Hyperion’s arms. They wound tightly around me, locking me in place.
There was no time to act. All I could do was watch in horror as Frost and Death slammed into Cronus’ chest, knocking him backward into the box. Cronus lay sprawled half in and out of the box, his hands clamped around the beast's back as he forced it into the necklace. The box trembled, glowing a sickly green, and I put more effort into thrashing against Hyperion’s hold.
“He needs me!” I wailed, kicking out to no avail as the man I loved wrestled the black mass into the necklace.
Suddenly, from my own body, a similar black, oily mass began to rise up off my chest as Sickness, Turmoil, and Strife were pulled from my body. They floated up and into the necklace, leaving me breathless and alone. Cronus made a sound that sent chills across my soul as he funneled all nine sins through himself and into the box. By the time he was done, there was no color left in his face; he looked half dead.
Theia and Ares ended up wrestling the lid down, everyone sighing with relief as it eventually closed with a snap, some sort of green mystical light coating it as it sealed.
The Titans and gods celebrated with shouts of joy. Everyone except Theia, Hyperion, and me. We were looking at Cronus, and a sob escaped at the expression Theia wore as she stepped closer to him.
I called out his name, my voice hoarse, but there was no movement. I saw the glance that passed between Hyperion and Theia. I must have blacked out for a second, because one moment Hyperion was holding me and the next I was crying and shaking over Cronus’ body. He barely looked like the Titan I knew. The entire network of veins from his chest, through his arms and neck, were all black. The whites of his eyes were black and his mouth was frozen open…
Dead.
I pounded on his chest, hyperventilating. “Get a healer!” I sobbed.
No one moved though. They all accepted what I couldn’t.
Just as the Fates said. His line ended today.
Chapter 16
Deafening screams ripped from my chest. When I finally managed to stop, I took up rocking Cronus back and forth, his heavy weight almost crushing me, but I didn’t care.
“Maisey…”
Someone was talking to me but I couldn’t hear them over the wailing in my head. I couldn’t hear anything.
Cronus. Please.
Please.
Please.
Please.
I begged. I begged until my brain hurt and my arms could no longer hold him. Until my tears covered us both in salt and despair. Until I collapsed against him. It was only at this point that someone managed to pry his body from my grip and I fell into a pit of darkness. The emotional exhaustion caught up to me and I welcomed unconsciousness, my only escape from the pain ripping at my soul, tearing apart my heart, shattering my being.
But even in dreams he was there, my beautiful, giant, pain-in-the-fucking-ass Titan. I missed him so much…
“She’s crying in her sleep,” someone whispered in the room, drawing me back to the land of the living. “This is heartbreaking.”
It was Theia, her grandmotherly voice soothing, and yet not at the same time. I was made up of abrasive and broken pieces now, and nothing could soothe them.
When I’d allowed myself as much grieving time as I could, I opened my eyes and wiped at them. Hyperion and Theia were right there beside me, both of them lurching forward, their faces wreathed in concern.
“Maisey,” Hyperion said, grasping my hand and squeezing it tightly. I ignored him, needing to pull myself together.
Now that the shock of Cronus’ death had passed, I was ready to do what I’d always planned if it went down this way.
I was ready to bring him back.
Actually…
“Did you bring Cronus back?” I asked, sitting up as energy flooded me.
Hyperion sucked in a deep breath. “We tried. We used the same spell that was part of all Titans, but it didn’t work.”
I wasn’t surprised by this. Devastated, but not surprised. Cronus hadn’t done a great job at hiding the fact that he was worried about his death. Worried about the future.
“Take me to Thanatos, then,” I finally said. No time for politeness, I’d already wasted precious moments having a mental breakdown.
He blinked at me, shooting a glance at his wife.
“Take me there or I will find another way,” I warned him. There was literally nothing I wouldn’t do right now to get Cronus back.
“I will take you there, but first we must deal with something pressing,” he said.
I glared at him, ready to fight. “What? What could be more pressing than bringing Cronus back?”
Hyperion’s lips thinned. “Nothing is more important, I completely understand. It's why I have already tried everything I know to return him to the land of the living. But this is to do with Cronus…”
That calmed me a little, until his next words. “Zeus stole the box, the necklace, and tried to take Cronus’ body.”
I shot up off of the bed in the little boat we were in as rage ran wild inside my chest. There were no sins to make me powerful—I was just a chick with nice hair now. But a part of me longed to be more, so I could release these destructive emotions in a show of power.
Theia reached out and patted my hand. “That is what Hyperion was trying to tell you. The thing we need to do first. If we want to have a hope of resurrecting Cronus, we must protect his remains from Zeus, and anyone else who’d want to use his powerful bones. We must find a spot to lay him until we have the means to resurrect him. For now,” she added.
And just like that, grief slammed into me, stealing away my breath. “Bali,” I choked out.
She nodded, her smile trembling, and then she was gone. Hyperion held out a hand. “Trust me, going to the underworld now or in ten minutes won’t make a difference in bringing him back. This is something you should do both for yourself and for the safety of the world.”
Oh God, oh God, this wasn’t happening. Tears spilled from my eyes and I nodded, reaching out to take his hand. Within a blink there was warm sand at my feet and every single Titan was standing with their arms clasped, looking down at my love’s lifeless form.
I had no idea how Hyperion had as
sembled this so quickly, and it really didn’t matter. As I stepped closer, dizziness overwhelmed me. Grief was debilitating. How did people live with it every day of their lives? The only thing keeping me functioning at all was the determination to bring him back.
Most people didn’t have that sort of hope.
“Where do you want to place him, Maisey?” Hyperion asked.
I pointed to the hut where we first made love. “There. Place him there.”
Okeanos was the first one to step forward, using his hands to part the water that lay beneath. “I’ll form a hole in the sand under there,” he said. “The water will protect him.”
Crius, Iapetos and Hyperion leaned down and lifted Cronus’ huge body. Seeing him like this, still covered in black veins … it tore my soul in two.
We all walked together across the beach and along the long path that led over the water to the hut, the place where I’d experienced true happiness. All of us had to get into the water to be able to reach the spot Okeanos had created, and I choked down the burning pain that was filling my chest and throat.
While his brethren gently lowered him into the hole, they wore expressions of devastation. I could barely watch as Okeanos covered him in sand and water, the lifeless figure gone from sight but never from our hearts and minds.
Hyperion wiped at his eyes, turning to me. “Mais, anything you want to say?”
I didn’t want to give a speech, I wanted to murder people and force Thanatos to release my lover, but it seemed everyone was expecting something from me. Sucking in a deep breath, I tried for simple and honest: “When I first met Cronus, I thought he was the hottest asshole I’d ever met. Grumbly fucker, he loved to order me around, and deliberately misunderstand the current world.” Another choked sob. “But the truth is, Cronus is the most unselfish being I’ve ever met. He put himself between me and danger so many times, and ultimately he gave his life so that humanity could go on.” I choked on the next words. “You’re all here because of him, and so I would ask that you use your time on this Earth to do good in his name.”
Every single Titan crossed a fist over their chest and bowed to me, causing the sobs rattling around my chest to grow louder. I couldn’t release them though. I couldn’t lose it yet.
“He was the best of us,” Hyperion said.
Iapetos nodded. “And the most stubborn.”
“With a dreadful grasp of sarcasm,” Crius added.
We all laughed genuine, if not a little bittersweet, sort of laughter.
As I wiped my eyes, I nodded to everyone, “Thank you all for your kindness. But I’m going to go bring him back now.”
No one questioned that, but they also didn’t look too confident. I had a bad feeling about what they weren’t telling me, but I also knew I’d find out soon enough from Thanatos.
“We’ll guard his remains until you return,” Okeanos said, the ocean swirling around him. “The water surrounds him, but extra protection never hurts.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, looking to Hyperion. “I’m ready.”
Swallowing roughly, he nodded, reaching forward and squeezing my hand. In seconds, we were out of the water and back in the underworld waiting room, the place just like a doctor’s office, names on the board above as everyone waited for their time to take the final journey. The first thing I did was scan the room for Cronus, my heart aching at the thought he might be one of the blank-faced individuals sitting here.
But he wasn’t. There was no sign of him, and his name was not on the board.
“Thanatos!” I shouted, not startling anyone except Hyperion.
I stared up at the screen for about thirty seconds, and was ready to march into Thanatos’ office if my name didn’t appear soon. Thankfully, it showed up a moment later, with Hyperion’s, and we both pushed our way back into his office.
Thanatos sat behind his desk, looking both pissed off … and sad. Somehow he’d perfected the art of grimacing with puppy dog eyes.
“Give me Cronus back,” I demanded as a way of greeting. “We just saved the fucking world, at great personal cost. He doesn’t deserve to be dead.”
He steepled his fingers in front of his face, sitting back as he watched me have my freak-out.
“I mean, why is he not in the waiting room. He only just died!”
I was shouting like a lunatic at this point. But whatever, I was past being fucking embarrassed or scared. My worst nightmare had already come true, and now I was living it every agonizing second. I’d just buried the love of my life under a fucking hut.
“Titans do not enter the waiting room,” Thanatos finally said, voice gravelly. “They’re too powerful to be held in stasis like that. Usually they go straight into the underworld.”
He paused, and I narrowed my eyes on him as my brow furrowed at the way he’d phrased that. “Usually…?”
He breathed deeply, and then in a rush, like he wanted to get it all out, he said: “There are seven levels to the underworld. Or realms if you’d like, and each one is further from the entrance where we are now. Cronus is currently in realm seven.”
I shook my head. “Okay … bring him to realm one and then let him fucking leave!”
Thanatos leveled a sympathetic look my way and I fought the urge to punch a god. “It doesn’t work that way, Maisey. I’m sorry. Usually he would have gone to realm one, and I can pull souls from there. But because all the Titans were released, and the darkness of the underworld surged forward, I have lost control. That’s why Cronus is in the seventh level when he should be in the first.”
“How does one escape from the seventh realm?” I asked.
He sighed. “The only way is with a token. It’s very rare, almost never given out to any soul. It’s like a free-for-all travel coin.”
In his hands, a golden coin appeared. It was about the size of his palm, detailed with engravings, and so shiny it was almost blinding. “The underworld has rules,” he continued softly. “Rules you and your Titans continued to break over and over until you released the Erynomus. The darkness. In punishment, all Titans that die will now find themselves in the seventh realm, where the Erynomus is out for blood.” He looked extra-pissed. “If the Erynomus ingests a Titan’s soul, then they cease to exist, and as a result the Ery will grow more powerful.”
Fuck me. Why was it never simple with these beings?
Thanatos twirled the coin around in his fingers. “Cronus can make his own way back to the first level of course, but by my calculation, it’s going to take him about a hundred human years to manage that.”
I’d be dead. Long gone by the time he might find his way back.
“There must be another way,” I said, refusing to accept it. “If you know the rules so well, then fucking tell me how to get around them.” I glanced at the coin in his palm. Fucker better offer to give me that or I’d have Hyperion shoot a hole of light through his chest.
This time, his look was one of annoyance. “And why should I help you? You are a human, insignificant to me, and without any way to owe me a favor.”
I moved super fast, and even though I didn't have sins or powers any longer, it felt like I did as I grasped the front of his shirt. “If you don’t help me, I will figure out a way to make you fucking suffer. I have friends now, and never forget that I helped Cronus get that elixir for your once fragile human lover.”
Thanatos looked shocked at my boldness.
“She has family now,” Hyperion said shortly, and I could all but taste his rage as it built in the air. “It would be worth your time to remember that.”
Thanatos’ eyes bore into mine, like he was reading beneath the surface. “Fair point,” he finally said, brushing me away.
The god let out a sigh, closing his eyes briefly. “I might be able to get you and Hyperion into a closer realm. Maybe five or six. I can send forward a lot easier than bringing anyone back from those realms. The truth is, this world has many rules and some even I can’t break.”
“How does th
at help then to get us to level five?” I pushed, a flicker of hope making itself known.
He leaned forward. “It will only take you a month or so to go from that realm to the seventh. The last four realms are close to each other, but far from the first three. If you find Cronus, you can use the coins to travel back here.” He paused. “Where I can then allow you to resurrect him.”
“We’ll do it,” I said at the same time Hyperion said, “That’s too dangerous.”
Swinging my head to him, I glared. “Don’t you want to save Cronus?”
He tilted his head, eyes sad. “More than anything, Mais, but he would not want me to risk your life. Not even minutely. You do understand that if you go into the underworld, you’ll risk permanent death. It might have seemed like it was easy to bring beings back from the dead, as we did with the Titans, but that was a special circumstance. We set it up to allow that. It would not be the same with you. You would be permanently dead.”
I let out a strangled laugh, the darkness in my soul seeping out. “I’m already dead without Cronus. I don’t fucking want to walk this world and know I didn’t even try and get him back. There is no risk too great. I will be doing this, with or without your help.”
I realized in that moment how fucking selfish I was being. “You should actually stay here,” I hurriedly added. “You just got Theia back, and your own life. I don’t want to risk you. I can do this on my own.”
Thanatos cleared his throat. “No, you really can’t. I mean, I can lend you some powers to help get through, because without them you’d have no chance. But I still put your odds at about ten percent if you don't have Hyperion’s help.”
“I’ll take those odds,” I said stubbornly.
Hyperion looked resigned as he nodded. “I will be with you the whole way, granddaughter.”
My eyes pricked with unshed tears as I reached out to hug him quickly. “Thank you.”
Thanatos stood, towering over me, and it reminded me so much of Cronus that I had to choke back more sobs.
“Come. We shouldn’t waste time. Cronus will be fighting as we speak.”